New blood test could ward off breast cancer

HUNDREDS of thousands of women at high risk of breast cancer could be saved by a routine genetic test.

More than 300,000 women in the UK are at high risk of developing breast cancer []

Scientists at Manchester University believe they can identify a majority of at-risk women with a blood test and questionnaire.

They are now carrying out a 60,000-strong trial which they hope will prove that extra checks during routine mammograms will pick up many of the cases.

More than 300,000 women in the UK are at high risk of developing breast cancer.

Most do not have a strong family history of the disease and are unaware of this.

Medical geneticist Professor Gareth Evans, who is leading the study, said: “We have the opportunity to save many more lives and the ideal place to do it is when a woman comes to have a routine mammogram.”

Among the first 15,000 women screened, doctors have already identified 176 women who are at high risk of the disease.

More than 300,000 women in the UK are at high risk of developing breast cancer

Professor Evans will reveal the results of his work to the Annual Conference of the British Society for Human Genetics on Wednesday.

Women in the study complete a simple family history questionnaire which asks about lifestyle and reproductive factors.

They also have their breast density measured and provide a saliva test for genetic analysis. Nearly 50,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK and more than 12,000 people die.

In women under the age of 35, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of the disease.

If a woman is identified as high risk she can carry out lifestyle changes and even be prescribed certain drugs such as tamoxifen to reduce the possibility of developing cancer.

Professor Evans is hoping to persuade the NHS National Breast Cancer Screening Programme to introduce the additional checks.

He said: “I am convinced we can halve the number of cancer cases in high-risk women.”